Paul Norr

Advisers can help with a mortgage strategy and squeezing out equity.

Advisers can help with a mortgage strategy and squeezing out equity.

There's a window of opportunity before clients reach age 70 ½ to mitigate some of the bite.

Here’s how to avoid the convoluted interplay of factors that can lead to alarmingly high rates.

This government benefits program offers a significant safety net to surviving family members. Advisors should be sure to know all aspects of this vital help.

Advisors and clients may not be as familiar with these other Social Security programs. Here's a brief primer.

Benefits grow approximately 8% for each year between 62 and 70 that clients delay filing for Social Security, and future benefits will include cost of living increases. So why aren't clients taking advantage?

Survivor benefits have some unique rules that separate them from the rest of the program.

Local Social Security workers are not necessarily trained in, nor are they able to evaluate, complicated strategies and long-term projections.

Suspending the payroll tax for people over 65 would decrease total government receipts, yet make it easier for older adults to work.

For clients who are public sector employees, a government pension could mean a reduction in spousal Social Security benefits.

If you think that reverse mortgages are only for cash-strapped retirees without any other financial options, think again.

Retirees who have been government workers or whose spouses have been government workers may be in for a surprise when they file for Social Security retirement benefits.

While headlines suggest that the Social Security system is running deficits, the truth is a bit more nuanced. For one thing, investment income is often ignored.

Though the cost to the system of "file and suspend" and "claim now, claim more later" filing strategies is modest, Congress will eventually be forced to look for ways to align future balance sheets as the Social Security trust fund gets spent down.

Social Security is a numbers game, with age being the key to many of the decisions. Here's a convenient reference list of the pertinent ages and what they mean for your clients.

When congressmen introduce bills that work at cross-purposes with the intent of Social Security, it's no wonder clients are confused too.

Clients often worry about the IOUs in the trust fund, which, while literally true, is unnecessarily alarmist. In the investment world, we call them bonds and they're not so scary.

Quick question: Do you know how many programs operate under the Social Security umbrella? Do you know the differences? If not, keep reading.

Suggest delaying and many clients will counter that forgoing years of benefits will take a long time to make up. But it's not as long as they might think.